Night Talk continues Sydney based artist, Fiona Currey-Billyard’s explorations into the nature of memory and the capacity of materials to capture the resonance of historical, cultural and natural events. This new body of work explores the circadian rhythms of natural environments and the retained memories of locations personally familiar and significant to the artist from her childhood in Papua New Guinea and regional Australia to her travels as an adult across Europe and Australia.
Working across textiles, sculpture, installation and sound, Currey-Billyard combines her studio practice with research and experimentation using physical materials drawn from specific locations including nails, staples, hair and tobacco combined with textiles and paper. By exposing these assemblages to the natural elements of water, air and brine she forces her materials to rust, evaporate, transfer and oxidise, creating works that are reminiscent of experiences, sensations and moments in time.
Fiona Currey-Billyard, The Procure, 2023, detail, rust, linen, 180 x 30cm.